Machine for ginning and cleaning cotton



Dec. 15, 1936. J. HARRIS MACHINE FOR GINNING AND CLEANING COTTON Filed Sept. 11, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l Q QMR lflffl 1 g I/v VENT I 2 I: i4 19((0 m5),

Dec. 15, 1936. J. HARRIS MACHINE FOR GINNING AND CLEANING COTTON Filed Sept. 11, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 15, 1936 UNITED STATES MACHINE FOR GINNING AND CLEANING COTTON Joseph Harris, Caruaru, Brazil Application September 11, 1934, Serial No. 743,507 In Great Britain June 11, 1934 2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in the ginning and cleaning of cotton.

In the ordinary ginning process cotton after passing from the feed box or hopper on to the gin saws is removed from the saws by a rotating brush and a good lint can be obtained provided the speed is kept low, but if the speed is increased to give a reasonably good commercial rate of output the quality of the lint drops ofl rapidly. It is common practice to provide a large and expensive installation for cleaning the cotton before it enters the gin, but this does not produce a clean lint leaving the gin, and the reason probably is that the gin saws tend to scrape the outer hull of the cotton seed and t 0 produce a fine brown dust which clings to the cotton fibres and is not removed by the ordinary brush gin.

The object of my invention is to provide improved apparatus for ginning and cleaning cots ton which obviates the necessity for a preliminary cleaning installation, which can be run at a relatively high speed, and which produces a cotton lint of better quality and of a higher market value than is produced by the ordinary brush m.

According to my invention in ginning, combing or cleaning cotton the cotton or lint is treated by a succession of interengaging rotating brushes which are alternately of ordinary type and of wire bristle type and which are preferably rotated in opposite directions at progressively increasing speeds.

In ginning cotton the cotton is removed from the gin saws by a rotary brush in the ordinary way, but subsequently is combed ofi the bristles of the first brush by a second brush which rotates at a considerable speed and has a surface formed by projecting steel Wires, and is finally removed from the wire brush by a further brush rotating at a very high speed.

When combing and cleaning cotton or cotton Waste or removing foreign matter from lint the material to be treated may be fed by a feed apron or belt on to a rotating wire brush arranged in front of the first brush in the apparatus described above, and a knife or separator blade for removing trash is preferably adjustably mounted adjacent to the point where the material is fed on to the auxiliary wire brush, the knife being set as close as possible to the wires of the brush.

Two practical forms of apparatus embodying my invention are illustrated diagrammatically by way of example in the accompanying drawings in which:--

' Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of a machine for ginning cotton.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary section of the surface of one of the brushes.

Figure 3 is a sectional side elevation of a slightly modified machine for cleaning cotton or cotton waste.

In the machine illustrated in Figure 1, l is the usual feed-box where the cotton enters for ginning, and 2 represents the gin saws which rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow at a suitable speed such as 450 R. P. M. and 2A represents the usual ribs with which the gin saws cooperate. The cotton is removed from the gin saws by a rotary brush 3 which rotates in the opposite direction to the gin saws at a higher speed, say 600 R. P. M. with its bristles in contact with the gin saws.

The cotton is combed off the bristles of the first brush 3 by a second brush 4 which rotates in the same direction as the gin saws and has a surface formed by projecting steel wires. These Wires are preferably of the shape shown in Figure 2, each wire 5 projecting at an angle from the surface of the drum and then being reversely cranked at about the middle of its length, as bristles of this shape ensure that the cotton will be held on the brush until it is positively removed.

The brush 4 rotates at a higher speed than the brush 3, by 900 R. P. M. and as the brush 4 combs the cotton lint off the brush 3 all dirt, trash and other foreign matter is thrown into a compartment 6 at one side of the wire brush 4.

The cotton is retained on the surface of the wire brush 4 and carried round until it is engaged by the bristles of a final brush 1 which rotates in a direction opposite to that of the brush 4 at a very high speed, as for example 1500 R. P. M. The brush 1 is partially enclosed by a curved casing 8 merging into an opening 9 leading to a condenser, and as the cotton is removed by the brush 1 from the bristles of the brush 4 the cotton is carried round and discharged through the opening 9 by the draught created by the highspeed rotation of the brush.

The brushes 3 and 4 are also partially enclosed by sheet metal casings [0, II and small gaps 12, I3 are left just behind the points of engagement of the gin saws and the brush 3 and of the brush 50 4 with the final brush 1 for the discharge of foreign matter.

With the machine described above the cotton is being combed and cleaned continuously up to the point of contact between the wire brush 4 and the final brush 1 so that only clean cotton lint is discharged to the condenser.

When the machine described above is employed for lintering seed for oil milling the usual float roll l4 will be fitted in the feed-box 2 as shown in Figure 1, the rest of the machine being unaltered.

For combing and cleaning cotton or cotton waste or removing foreign matter from lint the machine is modified as shown in Figure 3 by the addition of another rotary wire brush on to which the material to be treated is fed.

In this case the material to be treated is fed by a conveyor belt l5 on to the surface of a rotary brush l6 having wire bristles of the form shown in Figure 2, and rotating at a speed of say 450 R. P. M. A knife or separator blade I! for removing trash is mounted adjacent to the point Where the material is fed on to the brush l6 and is adjustable by means of a control rod l8 towards or away from the surface of the brush, the knife being set as close as possible to the wires of the brush.

z The material is removed from the brush l6 by an oppositely rotating brush I9 and is then engaged in succession by a Wire brush 2!] and. a final brush 2| corresponding to the brushes 4 and 1, the cleaned material being discharged from the brush 2| through an opening 22.

A pressure roller 23 for an automatic stop may be arranged adjacent to the brush 16 just above the point at which the material is fed on to it.

The machine illustrated in Figure 1 may be readily adapted for both purposes by fitting the brush [6 and 'feed belt l5 to it, with means for raising the brush l6 out of engagement with the next brush when the machine is used for ginning.

It will be understood that the machines illustrated and described are given as examples only and that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. An improved machine for cleaning cotton comprising a rotating brush having a surface formed by projecting steel wires, means for feeding the cotton on to said brush, a second brush having a surface formed by ordinary bristles rotating in contact with the first brush but in the opposite direction, a third brush having a surface formed by projecting steel wires rotating in contact with the second brush but in the opposite direction, and a fourth brush having a surface formed by ordinary bristles rotating in contact with the third brush but in the opposite direction, the speed of rotation of said brushes being successively and progressively higher from the first brush to the last.

2. An impro ed machine for cleaning cotton comprising a rotating brush having a surface formed by projecting steel wires, means forfeeding the cotton on to said brush, a separator blade adjustably mounted close to the surface of said brush adjacent the point at which the cotton is fed on to it, a second brush having a surface formed by ordinary bristles rotating in contact with the first brush butin the opposite direction, a third brush having a surface formed by projecting steel wires rotating in contact with the second brush but in the opposite direction, and a fourth brush having a surface formed by ordinary bristles rotating in contact with the third brush but in the opposite direction.

J OSEPH HARRIS. 

